Recycling

I grew up in India recycling just about everything. The kind of recycling Americans can never imagine. Here is an (extreme) example.

Many people in India use a new razor blade to shave beard first. When it no longer shaves closely, it is used to shave the underarm (about once a week). When the blade fails to do the job properly in the underarm department also, it is used to trim finger nails (not too many people in India use/used to use nail clippers). When it falls short in that department also, it is used to sharpen pencils (we did not have pencil sharpners at home). I have never cut myself while using a razor blade to trim finger nails or to sharpen pencils - talk about skill!

Bottles, cans, tins, used notebooks, old magazines, unwanted books/ pamphlets, and old newspapers never get thrown away in India. You can sell them and get cash! People dealing in these items go from door to door to buy them with cash. You don't have to take them anywhere. Old papers and newspapapers are sold by weight. Bottles, cans, and tins are priced per item. An empty bottle of Scotch or imported perfume can bring good money because they are used to make imitation products! (Smile.)

Old clothing, in India, of course, can always be donated to charitable institutions who distribute them to the poor. But they can also be exchanged for stainless steel utensils, pots, pans etc. Vendors come to people's doors to ask if one is interested in exchanging used clothing for stainless steel items. Most people barter old/used clothing for new stainless steel items for the kitchen.

Recycling things within household or family is very common - almost a rule. As a young boy, I wore very few new clothes. I always got my elder brother's (who was nearly 2 years older than me) clothes which no longer fitted him. The same held good for school text books. He was only one grade above me in school. So each year, when we were promoted to the next higher grades, new text books were bought for him, and I got his used textbooks! I never complained. Because that was the normal practice in every household in India at my time.

I hope with the current recession, bad economy, unemployment etc, America start doing some of the things that we always did and do in India.

Shoban Sen
Bestnetguru.com